UN Chief Guterres Says World Worsening As Council Paralysed
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that the state of the world is getting worse as the UN Security Council remains paralysed by geopolitical divisions. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York on 21 September 2026, he said conflicts, climate crisis and inequality are deepening while global governance fails to respond.
According to Reuters, Guterres cited wars in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, plus rising military spending and climate disasters, as evidence that multilateralism is in free fall. He said the Security Council, tasked with maintaining peace, is blocked by veto use and power rivalries among its 5 permanent members.
The UN chief said the Council’s inability to stop conflicts undermines its legitimacy and leaves civilians to pay the price. He pointed to over 120 armed conflicts worldwide, record forced displacement of 120 million people and a climate emergency that has pushed global temperatures 1.5 degrees above pre industrial levels. He called for urgent reform of the Council to make it more representative of Africa, Latin America and Small Island States.
The evergreen explainer is that the UN Security Council has 15 members including 5 permanent members with veto power namely United States, Russia, China, France and Britain. Its mandate under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter allows sanctions and peacekeeping deployments. Similar to how Ghana’s Energy Commission licensing, CSSPS placement and WASSCE grading follow codified rules, Council resolutions require 9 votes and no veto to pass. The veto system, created in 1945, is now at the heart of calls for reform championed by Africa through the Ezulwini Consensus demanding 2 permanent seats for the continent.
Ghana has consistently backed Security Council reform through the African Union position. The country served as non permanent member in 2022 to 2023 and contributed troops to peacekeeping in Lebanon and South Sudan. Analysts say Guterres’ warning resonates in Accra where the Foreign Ministry has linked Council paralysis to delayed action on Sahel coups and Sudan humanitarian crisis.
Guterres urged member states to adopt the Pact for the Future and overhaul global financial architecture to support developing nations. He said without bold reform, the world risks fragmentation into rival blocs that worsen poverty, hunger and climate injustice.
Source: #Howedey.com
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Author: Korkor Anumu
